The oldest conflict in Africa has taken more than 30,000 children as child soldiers, many others used as sex slaves, almost all have been abducted from their families. All 30,000 plus children, some as young as eight, have suffered in the violent hands of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), in northern Uganda. According to the […]
National Petroleum Council Report – Okay, I will admit it: Because this was a report by the National Petroleum Council, from a task force led by ex-Exxon chief and vociferous global warming “skeptic” Lee Raymond, commissioned by a presidential administration that has been famously indifferent, if not hostile, to the environment, I didn’t take much […]
On November 19, 2005, a Marine unit encountered a roadside bomb, killing one U.S. soldier. Following the event, Marine squads underwent a house to house search for insurgents. Instead, the Marines allegedly killed several Iraqi civilians, including woman and children – some of which were in their beds. Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum is undergoing […]
"Tell the teacher we're surfin', surfin' USA." From BlueClimate: A report on an important analysis of Congress' draft energy legislation from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. From DeSmogBlog: Some informative and fun "TV." At TreeHugger: A good review of Chris Mooney's new book, Storm World. Chris is a really interesting thinker and writer […]
Kosovar Albanian charged in Serbia: (AP) Sinan Morina, an ethnic Albanian, was charged with “expulsion, imprisonment, torture, rape and killing of eight Serb civilians” by Serbian prosecutors in Belgrade today. Morina is alleged to have abducted the Serbian civilians from their village, executed them, and deposited their bodies in a cave. The victims were either […]
"The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men Gang aft agley, An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!" Congestion pricing, a rollicking success story in London, Stockholm and Singapore, may have taken a massive hit yesterday when the NY State Legislature declined to advance the legislation necessary for New York City to proceed, […]
Japan is expected to ratify the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ratification with the United Nations coincides with World Justice Day, marking the anniversary of the opening of the Rome treaty on July 17, 1998. Japan will also become the Courts largest donor by contributing 19 percent of its annual […]
Serge Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor heading the UN investigation into political murders in Lebanon, released new information to the UN in his eighth report last week. Focusing on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, the report highlights the role of 22 individuals, cell phones used to track his movements, and possible motives […]
Nigerian Militants (Photo from AFP file) Only days after the release of a 3-year-old British girl kidnapped in Nigeria, another child was kidnapped. The Nigerian kidnappers demand $78,600 for 3-year-old , the child a boy was taken on Thursday, July 12. Thankfully the boy was released the following day, unharmed, thanks to the payment of […]
There are a slew of stories that I have been scanning while I've been working on some other projects. Here are some of them now. "The Washington Post" says Report Warns of a Much Warmer Northeast – Effects Could Be Disastrous, Says Two-Year Study. As someone who grew up skiing on the blue ice of Vermont, […]
In the Republic of Congo the ministry of health has been successful in vaccinating 400,000 children under the age of five against polio. The campaign, is to help in preventing the spread of polio from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),and vaccinations took place in the administrative departments of Brazzaville, Pool in the south, Plateaux […]
This week’s “Economist” has a leader (BritSpeak for editorial) and an article on the state of play in Congress on the energy bills and their relationship to climate change legislation. They are not complimentary. The editorial, A pale shade of green, is off base in several ways. I agree with some of what’s being said […]
You are only one person, as am I, but one person can do a great deal for humanity. Big or small we all have a voice, and we must use are voice whenever we can, and trust that we will be heard. Look back at history to see those who have not only changed and […]
The war in Bosnia began in March 1992 and did not end until November 1995, the worst tragedy of the Bosnian war was the three day massacre in the city of Srebrinca, in eastern Bosnia, from July 11 -14, 1995. In April 1993, the United Nations declared Srebrenica a UN safe area, and it was […]
I must say that sometimes the workings of our federal government’s legislative branch, properly known as Congress, aka The Hill, escape me. Certainly there are disparities in the proportional representation in the Senate which complicate things. That Wyoming (pop. 515 thousand) or Vermont (pop. 624 thousand) have the same number of representatives in the Senate […]